Kidnapper pleads guilty, gets 40 years

The suspect arrested after an attempted armed robbery and kidnapping of a woman and her infant grandson outside the Hobby Lobby in Conyers last March entered a guilty plea in Rockdale County Superior Court last Wednesday.

Musa Muhammad Abdul Alkarim, 29, of Atlanta, was sentenced by Rockdale County Superior Court Judge David Irwin to 40 years, to serve 20 years, in prison. Alkarim was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment, one count of criminal attempt to commit hijacking of a motor vehicle and one count of entering automobile.On March 21, 2012, a 62-year-old Covington woman had just finished putting her 9-month-old grandson into the car seat in the back seat of her car around 4 p.m. She was parked just three spots down from the Hobby Lobby entrance. As she was getting into the driver's seat, Alkarim jumped in the car on the passenger side and put a knife to her throat. He ordered her to start the engine and drive away.

The woman began screaming and fighting off the attacker. People heard the commotion and starting coming toward the car. Alkarim walked away and got into a silver Nissan, which was rented that day, parked behind Burger King and headed south on Ga. Highway 138. But an Ellenwood man, who witnessed what happened, quietly got into his own car, a white Escalade, and began to follow the suspect, calling 911 and describing to dispatchers the suspect's vehicle and where it was headed. Alkarim went to the McDonald's at Ga. Highway 138 and Flat Shoals and then proceeded to drive behind the Captain D's and Sign-O-Rama where he abandoned the car. He reportedly ran behind the post office and the former Victorious Life Church and police found him in the bushes.

A search warrant of Alkarim's residence uncovered zip ties and a knife set that matched the knife used in the attempted carjacking and kidnapping. Alkarim was also wanted for a similar incident in DeKalb County at Stonecrest Mall where a woman with a young child in a retail parking lot was robbed at knifepoint and zip tied to her steering wheel. Alkarim was previously convicted of an armed robbery in Fulton County that was pleaded down to a robbery charge and given first offender status, meaning the conviction did not count after he finished his sentence.

The victim's family was present at court but did not make a statement, nor did Alkarim offer a statement, apology or explanation for his actions, said Assistant District Attorney Dabney Kenter. "The family was satisfied with the outcome of the plea and the sentence," said Kenter. "They were ready to have the closure this afforded them and did not want to have to relive this in the courtroom. I think they were satisfied justice had been done."

Alkarim's defense attorney Musa Ghanayem said of the plea, "Mr. Alkarim took responsibility for his action." He said he didn't recall if Alkarim's wife or family were present in the courtroom but said, "His wife and family support him very much. There are no winners in a circumstance like that."